Counting on government adds up to excessive dependency

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Thanksgiving is the perfect time to count your blessings. Many
of us will prefer to follow Will Rogers' advice and "thank God
we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

Unfortunately, that quip might not remain true much longer. A
new Heritage Foundation study shows Americans are saddled with more
government every year, and we're becoming steadily more dependent
on it.

The soon-to-be-released 2006 Index of Dependency aims to measure
the "progress" of the federal government in crowding out private-
or community-based services and programs. It focuses on five main
categories of federal programs: housing assistance, health and
welfare spending, retirement income, educational subsidies for
college students, and farm subsidies.

So how much does our nation of pioneers rely on government?
Since 1980, dependency has more than doubled, rising by 138
percent. That long-term trend continued in recent years under a
Republican president and (outgoing) Republican Congress. Just since
2001 the index has jumped some 20 percent.

To put it simply, the federal public sector is shouldering civil
society aside. It won't be easy to reverse it.

Consider health care. Medicare and Medicaid were enacted in the
mid-'60s, during President Johnson's "Great Society" initiative.
They quickly became sponges, drawing off ever-more federal
spending. In 2005 these two programs alone accounted for one-fifth
of all federal spending.

This dangerous trend is going to accelerate. Within the next
five years, some 77 million baby boomers will begin to retire,
which will force Medicare to deliver a steady stream of new
benefits and services. By 2015, federal or state governments will
pay half of all health-care costs. Medicare and Medicaid alone are
projected to cost federal taxpayers $9.1 trillion by 2016.

Young adults are growing increasingly dependent on government as
well. This year the federal government will help some 10 million
students pay for college. But hold your applause: That increased
federal spending actually crowds out existing family and community
support systems, so as costs keep increasing, there'll be fewer
places for students to get funding. Meanwhile, a big chunk of this
spending is going to students who are already well off. As the
College Board points out, "recent changes in student aid policies
have benefitted those in the upper half of the income distribution
more than those in the lower half."

In 1994, 14.2 million Americans were on welfare. That's 5.5
percent of our population. But in 1996, lawmakers changed the
nature of welfare. Instead of simply sitting back and collecting a
check, recipients had to prove they were working or training for a
job. This helped break the cycle of dependency.

Since the reform, 2.3 million children have been lifted out of
poverty as their parents found jobs and became self-sufficient.
Because government forced these parents to take some
responsibility, the poverty rate for black children and single
mothers has plunged by a third in just a decade. It's amazing what
people can accomplish when the government gives them the freedom to
do so.

The growth in the size and scope of government can't go on
forever. As Thomas Jefferson put it, "Dependence begets
subservience and venality." Eventually, overreliance on government
will eat away at American independence and ingenuity, the very
traits we've relied upon to build the world's greatest nation.

If we want our grandchildren to be able to give thanks for being
Americans, we'll need to heed the warning of the Index of
Dependency. It's time to start steering a course away from
government control of our lives -- and start moving back toward
greater personal responsibility.